Shit. She might really say no. And he’d have no choice but to respect that. But a man just didn’t give up easily on a girl who inspired him to take the train to Times Square on a Tuesday afternoon. A girl whose mouth had spawned hours of fantasies to derail a routine that never, ever deviated. They’d spent less than an hour in each other’s presence, yet he could already tell that if they parted ways now, he’d be thinking of her for a really long time.
“Far be it from me to hit you with a guilt trip, but…”
He was caught off guard when her arms dropped slowly, her throat working with a swallow. “What? I should feel guilty for what?”
“For coming to my bakery and leaving me with a week’s worth of work.” Leo took his phone out of his pocket, waving it. “Jackie implemented your idea on the website. We’ve had two hundred entries for personalized cake pops in twenty-four hours. We’re calling it the Sweetest Fix.”
Reese’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious? That is incredible!”
“Maybe for you, sweetheart. I have to carry the work load.”
She seemed to chew over the endearment, a smile lifting one side of her mouth. “I’m very contrite.”
Leo snorted. “Oh yeah, I can tell.”
She toed the sidewalk with the tip of her sneaker. “So you’re leveraging this into getting me to agree to a date?”
“Someone has to help me come up with the perfect bite for these pathetic souls. Besides me, you’re the only one I know with an aptitude for it.”
“You want my help?”
“It would cut my work load in half.”
“And you might get to kiss me again.” The flirtatious sparkle from Saturday night was finally back in her eye. He was so relieved, he had to concentrate on filling his lungs. “Do I have that about right?”
“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t cross my mind eight hundred times.”
“Since Saturday?”
“Since we’ve been standing here.”
“That’s a lot,” she murmured sweetly, before visibly shaking herself. “Still, I-I’m trying to channel all of my energy into my reason for being in the city, you know? I have to eat, sleep and breathe dancing to be competitive.” She tucked a few strands of dirty-blonde hair behind her ear. “As much as I like you, I just…I can’t say yes.”
A weight dropped in his stomach. “All right, Reese. That’s fair.”
Knowing when he’d pushed his luck far enough, Leo gave her one last look and backed away. He could understand her reasons. Hadn’t he been shutting out everything and everyone in favor of pastries since opening the Cookie Jar four years ago?
Still. Damn, this sucked.
How long was it going to take the funny feeling in his jugular to go away?
Reluctantly, Leo started to turn, as difficult as it was when Reese was still staring after him with her shoulders drooped—and he almost ran smack into a man walking in the opposite direction. “Leo?”
He reared back. “Minh,” he said, fondness rolling through him, despite the apple core stuck in his throat. “Hey, man.”
Minh, one of the building managers who’d been working at his father’s theater since Leo was in grade school, used his hip to balance the heavy bag in his arms. “Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around the theater in a minute.”
“Busy with the bakery.” He glanced back to find Reese still hesitating outside the theater. “Where are you headed with that bag?” Leo asked, facing Minh again. “Need a hand?”
“I wouldn’t turn it down.” Without a hint of warning, Minh heaved the bag into Leo’s arms and mopped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his sweater. “You always liked feeding the pigeons on the roof of the Bexley, right? That’s where I’m headed.”
“Sure.”
He wasn’t positive what made him turn around and try one last time with Reese. She had every right to turn him down. But he had the unmistakable gut feeling that she wanted to say yes and something was holding her back. Why else was she still standing there looking like her puppy had just run away? He didn’t like seeing her like that. Not at all. Was there some other reason, besides her commitment to dance that was keeping her from saying yes?
“Want to come, Reese?” Leo asked.
“Me?” She pressed a graceful dancer’s hand between her breasts. “The roof of the Bexley? No. I’m…I have an appointment this afternoon and I have to change…”
Leo swallowed hard. Grunted.
“Um. Are you sure?” Minh hopped in cajolingly, as quick a study as Leo remembered. “It’s only one block south. You can see every theater in the neighborhood from up there.”
Her expression turned dreamlike. “I really shouldn’t.”
“This bag of bird seed is pretty heavy,” Leo said, feigning difficulty. “I could use some extra muscle.”
A laugh bubbled out of her. “You filthy liar.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she hopped back and forth on her feet. “All right, you win,” she blurted, finally. “Five minutes.”